A firm responsible for delivering the new Sandy Hook Elementary School “on time and under budget” has been retained as the construction manager for the community’s new police station project.

The 191 South Main Street building originally opened in the early 1980s to be the “center of typewriter engineering innovation in America” — that found new life as an administrative complex for Taunton Press — is one important step closer to becoming the town’s new police headquarters after the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a Public Building and Site Commission (PBSC) recommendation to retain Consigli Construction Company to oversee the project.

Over the course of two meetings, one February 26 with the PBSC, and one with selectmen March 4, it became clear that Consigli was not only the low bidder, but the construction firm of preference because of its existing relationship with the town, and its history of working closely and cooperatively with town agencies.

“We have this recent history with Consigli as the firm that built Sandy Hook School, which by all accounts was done well, on time, and under budget,” First Selectman Dan Rosenthal told The Newtown Bee following his board’s endorsement of the firm. “In addition, having worked so closely with them on that much bigger project, the knowns about Consigli far outweigh the unknowns.”

Read about Consigli Construction company's involvement with Sandy Hook School here.

Mr Rosenthal said there is a lot already known about the building.

He said a resident recently brought him a 1981 Newtown Bee article and a booklet created by the Smith-Corona typewriter company when the building was originally finished. The company relocated its Research and Development operations into the newly completed South Main Street facility after outgrowing space in nearby Danbury, the article states.

Then the nation’s leading manufacturer of portable typewriters, the original Smith-Corona R&D lab was completed in a year and a half and welcomed none other than First Selectman Jack Rosenthal, Dan’s grandfather, to its first open house in June 1981.

Speaking about the current construction manager selection, Dan Rosenthal went on to say that he saw Consigli contain the SHES project within a fixed budget and pointed out that its staff has relationships with local building, fire, and health inspectors, along with Kaestle Boos, a firm also familiar with working on Newtown projects that is already contracted to design the new police facility.

“Consigli’s approach to pre-construction practices is really good, too,” Mr Rosenthal said. “They will probably take the opportunity to quantify everything we need to know about the structure, so we don’t hit any issues that will bring surprise costs once construction starts.”

‘No Stone Unturned’

Mr Rosenthal said that he will not move forward with a groundbreaking until all construction bids are in and all costs are qualified and within the set project budget. He expects Consigli staffers will “leave no stone unturned, literally, that would generate estimated project cost overruns or delays.

He said the town will commence with securing a letter of intent to hire Consigli, so they could begin so-called “phase zero” work with the architects.

“We’ll let them run their own estimates to be sure they feel this project will come in at or under the project budget,” the first selectman said. “It is important to hear that from the CM (construction manager) now before the design phase advances and then something crops up.”

The good news going in, according to PBSC Chairman Robert Mitchell, is the building is in excellent condition, has been well-maintained even through a period where it was vacant, and the structural integrity is sound.

“I like to describe a building like this as having good bones,” Mr Mitchell previously told The Newtown Bee.

During the PBSC meeting, Mr Mitchell reviewed the process by which his panel came to recommend Consigli. He, along with a subcommittee that included commissioners Harold ‘Gus’ Brennan and Arthur Norton; Town Purchasing Agent Rick Spreyer; Police officials, including Chief James Viadero and Capt Christopher Vanghele; and representatives from Kaestle Boos, met and received presentations from four construction firms.

“Everybody was happy with the way Consigli handled themselves,” Mr Mitchell said. “We liked the way they looked at the front end. Consigli has committed to use the same team as with Sandy Hook [School], and their presentation took us through the entire project.

“They know the town, the fire marshal, building inspectors, and they undertook an early design review and dollar assessment on pre-construction,” Mr Mitchell continued. “They have a very low change order history, create building mockups, and provide excellent schedule review. I found no disadvantages at all — they just stood out.

Virtual Reality

Similar to the Sandy Hook project, Consigli will be using a 3D design system to create a virtual reality facility to help residents and officials envision themselves in and around the building before the first shovels hit the ground, using VIM (Virtual Information Modeling).

Mr Brennan said he also appreciated that Consigli would “roll reimbursables into the general construction package.”

He pointed out the firm’s “CM and pre-construction fees were really low. They already had a lot of positive experience in Newtown — that is reflected by their teams. And once construction team members were assigned, they would not change.”

Bill Knight, who has served on a number of local projects as a liaison between the town and construction vendors as a “clerk of the works,” added that Consigli is, “best construction [manager] I ever worked with.”

Read about  preliminary work ramping up at the new Police Headquarters Site here

Following the PBSC selection committee’s unanimous approval of the firm, the entire PBSC voted unanimously to recommend Consigli to the Board of Selectmen.

During the PBSC meeting, Chick Boos of Kaestle Boos said that pending a meeting with Consigli, he would like to shoot for construction to commence in early fall of this year.

Mr Boos also noted that while the facility’s septic tank will be replaced, the existing leaching fields are in good shape, which conserves a roughly $20,000 expense that can now be applied to other items in the project budget. Town crews are also working at the site, helping to conserve funds that would be spent on an outside contractor.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said his workers have been taking down trees at the site in anticipation of excavation for an extension to the driveway that will encircle the building and lead to a protected side sally port that will be added on to the building during construction.